Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya arrested in London, CBI confirms arrest

NEW DELHI: Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya was arrested on Tuesday by the Scotland Yard in London. Mallya is reportedly being taken to Westminster magistrates court. There is also high chance of his extradition to India. The arrest comes after India’s extradition request to the United Kingdom.

Mallya has been arrested in the loan default case after the order of Wensminster court. Last month, the British government certified India’s request and sent it to a district judge for further action.

15:45 PM: The CBI has also confirms the arrest of liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

15:40 PM: Minister of State for Finance, Santosh Gangwar over Vijay Mallya arrest: Nobody will be spared.

15:35 PM: Vijal Mallya arrested at 9:30 AM in London

Earlier in January, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case. Despite multiple injunctions, Mallya failed to appear before investigators at the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A Delhi court had also put out an open-ended non-bailable warrant against Mallya in a case of alleged violation of foreign exchange rules.

Meanwhile, after three unsuccessful attempts, banks have finally managed to sell off Vijay Mallya’s iconic villa in Goa. Actor-producer Sachin Joshi has bought the ‘house of good times’ for Rs 73 crore.

The sale has been done through a private treaty.

The harried lenders to Kingfisher Airlines have ended the jinx to recover the dues of over Rs9,000 crore by monetising assets of the airline under their custody by selling the villa to actor-producer Sachiin Joshi.

“Secured creditors have the right to go for a private treaty if the auction route fails. With this, it seems the jinx over the sale of KFA properties is over. The villa was sold through a bilateral agreement earlier this week for Rs 73.01 crore to actor-producer Sachiin Joshi,” a source who is aware of the development told PTI.

However, Sachin Joshi, the new owner of the grand villa might change its name.

Kingfisher House, the erstwhile headquarters of the airline, was put under the hammer at a reserve price of Rs 103.5 crore while the same for Villa in Goa was Rs 73 crore.

The SBI-led consortium had reduced the reserve price of Kingfisher Villa, the plush property situated at Condolim in North Goa, by 10 per cent from Rs 81 crore quoted in the second attempt at auction of this property in December.

The sea-facing property, which had been home to numerous lavish parties hosted by Mallya in the past, was put under the hammer for the first time last October with a reserve price of Rs 85.29 crore.

Mallya owes over Rs 9,000 crore to lenders like SBI, PNB, IDBI Bank, BoB, Allahabad Bank, Federal Bank and Axis Bank, among others. He left the country on March 3 last year for the UK and Indian authorities have been trying since then to bring him back.